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DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – The City of Dayton has told federal authorities it has two places that could be used to shelter children from Central America.

Dayton officials say they responded to a U.S. government request in identifying potential housing. Their statement Tuesday evening came two days after a Dayton-area congressman and other southwest Ohio officials sent a letter to President Barack Obama saying Mayor Nan Whaley doesn’t speak for the region in offering to house children of the border influx.

Whaley says that if the federal government asks for help, the city has an obligation to consider it. One spot offered is a former Navy Reserve facility on Gettysburg Avenue and the other a vacant former business property in the 900 block of Deeds Avenue.

Congressman Mike Turner has now introduced the UAC State Authority Act. The legislation would give states the right to reject federal government proposals to establish facilities for unaccomplanied alien children within their borders. The bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to notify a state governor prior to any transfer of UACs to his or her state.

“The ability of the federal government to hand-pick a city, county, or state as a UAC receiver site without first consulting the governor’s office disregards the real impact these decisions have on regional communities and significantly diminishes states’ rights,” said Turner.

There’s disagreement across the country about dealing with what Obama has called a humanitarian crisis.